Cheesy Nicaraguan Street Food Comes To DUMBO

July 15, 2014

Published by Gothamist

We don't have nearly as many ways to dine on Nicaraguan food as we should in this city but Little Muenster's DUMBO outpost is here to do something about it. Starting today and running through September, the teeny grilled cheese shop is ditching American bread-and-cheese to run a pop-up stall serving the Nicaraguan street food known as quesillos.

Traditionally sold from a roadside cart—according to Nicaraguan and Little Muenster co-owner Vanessa Palazio—the hand-held snacks are made with corn tortillas that are rolled with semi-soft cow's milk cheese, pickled onions and crema, a smooth, more liquid kind of sour cream. The rolls can be bulked up with meats like slow-roasted pork and braised tongue or with some cool and creamy avocado.

Little Nica, as they're dubbing it, will stand in place of the shop's regular grilled cheese menu throughout its run. "Americans love latin flavors, and we feel that we can expand their horizons!" explains Palazio. "And it doesn't hurt that Little Nica still falls in the Little Muenster wheelhouse of cheese + bread!" Besides the quesillos, they'll be offering gallo pinto (aka rice and beans) and madura, sweet and sticky fried plantains. Everything on the menu runs between $5.50 and $8.50.